You sure know how to turn a phrase, Mark Deuze!

To describe my encounter with Dr. Deuze as lucky is an underwhelming platitude, nowhere near as significant as the impact he's had on my professional development.

But luck it was - I went to school certain that I'd spend my time conducting economic experiments in 3D virtual worlds and extrapolating grand conclusions about reality from those glass-encased paramecia. Fascinating as that topic is, I found quickly that I'd rather be the Architect, moving screens and pulling strings, than the Observer, watching as behaviors unfold and doing one's best to have no impact. (As y'all might've concluded, I'm nothing if not high impact.)

But back to the point: I came across Mark and his surgical insights into the synthetic relationship between our animalish species and our beloved tools, especially those electrified ones we inundate ourselves with these days (you're doing it right now)! Recognizing the brilliance and rarity in Deuze's media doctrine, it literally changed the course of my studies and my career since.

We worked together on a couple articles, which I no doubt bragged about when they were published.

But here he's hit me with a new nuggest: We don't live with media, we live in media. He's probably been saying that for a while, but it just hit me with profundity.

Rock on with your bad self, Mark.